Earning extra money replacing gutters or putting in new bathroom tile will cost you a lot of time and money thanks to Michigans licensing laws.

Without a certificate from the government, a lot of contracting work is illegal.

Michigan's licensing apparatus requires most general contracting workers to pay $235, take 60 hours of state-approved education, pass two exams and be over 18 years of age. Tiling, pouring terrazzo and putting up gutters are covered as maintenance and alteration contractors. Michigan is one of only 10 states that requires a license for this type of work and has the fourth highest licensing burden in the country, according to the Institute for Justice, a libertarian public interest law firm.

The Institute for Justice released a study recently looking at licensing mandates around the nation. The report says that a lot of licensing is "irrational" and "a war against work."

Liz Smalley from Michigan's Office of Regulatory Reinvention said that some licensing is not overburdensome and protects consumers. However, she acknowledged that the state "has a regulatory environment that is in need of reform."

"Over the years, occupational regulations have been added and compounded without any attempt to review what is necessary and healthy for an efficient policy that encourages job growth and economic development," Smalley said in an email.

Smalley has worked with the state Occupational Licensing Advisory Rules Committee, which recently suggested 18 occupations that should be deregulated.

The state requires licensing for those doing carpentry work, but also siding, gutters, roofing, insulation and tile and marble. Only five states require any education for this type of general contracting work. Michigan also requires individuals to be of "good moral character." It is unclear how that is objectively measured.

Teri Francis, with the Builders License Training Institute in Williamsburg, said state approval for maintenance and alteration contractors helps them be protected by the laws.

"The license is required for anyone who is working on other people's homes (residential) if the project amounts to $600 or more," Francis said. "That includes time and materials. If a person is working on their own home, the license is not required."

Francis said Michigan licensing law is "now up to par" and that benefits include discounts from some lumber yards as well as marketing aspects.

Smalley wrote that her office recommends eliminating the 60 hours of education and that the exam must only be taken once.

Michigan licensing law also requires painters to pay a fee, take exams and be approved while barbers, are required to spend 2,000 hours in training  more than lawyers in the state.

The state requires licensing for those doing carpentry work, but also siding, gutters, roofing, insulation and tile and marble. Only five states require any education for this type of general contracting work.

As usual, reporter doesn't know what he's talking about.

These guys aren't general contractors. A GC would subcontract to these guys to complete the appropriate phases of the project.

When I lived in MT a few decades ago, only plumbers, electricians and similar required licensure.

It would be interesting to see if there is any actual evidence that fraud, poor workmanship, etc. is less common in states where licensure is required.

There are laws similar to this in many areas of work. Guess who lobbies to get them passed - associations of other people in the same field. People doing general contracting work want to put some limits on how many people they have to compete with.

These requirements are actually mild compared with some other fields such as hair cutting (as pointed out near the end of the article).

You can look at it as unfair to some people. On the other hand, if there were not laws like this, it might be a lot harder for those who make it into these fields to earn a living.

What kind of Republicans though? Illinois was dominated by Republicans, outside of Chicago, for many years. They didn’t do anything to oppose the unions. Have the Republicans in Michigan done better so far?

Are you so sure of that? Today Michigan has a Republican Governor, and both houses in the Michigan legislature are controlled by Republicans.

I was born and raised in Michigan and I still consider it home. Typing that, I have watched Republican Governors and legislatures come and go and the unions still ran the State.

As I read the MichCapCon web site I notice the same thing I see here in Virginia and all across our nation; way too many Republicans are just soft Democrats who use the Republican name to get themselves elected but vote and operate as liberals, throwing a bone now and then to the conservatives.

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